RESUMO
Melon seed extracts have high antioxidant activities and are effective against a variety of diseases, including kidney stones. In kidney stone model rats, the anti-urolithiatic effects of the hydro-ethanolic extract of melon seed and potassium citrate were studied and compared. After urolithiasis induction by ethylene glycol, the extract and potassium citrate were treated orally for 38 days concurrent with ethylene glycol. Then, urine and kidney sampling were done, and the urinary parameter levels were measured. The melon and potassium citrate treatments reduced the kidney index, the levels of urinary calcium and oxalate, calcium oxalate deposit numbers, the score of crystal deposits, histo-pathological damages, and the score of inflammation in the kidney sections, while elevating the urinary pH, magnesium, and citrate levels, and also the expression of the UMOD, spp1, and reg1 genes in the kidney of treated animals. The effect of potassium citrate is the same as the effect of melon in treated animals. So, their effects could be by normalizing urinary parameters, reducing crystal deposits, excreting small deposits from the kidney, reducing the chance of them being retained in the urinary tract, and elevating the expression of the UMOD, spp1, and reg1 genes, which are involved in kidney stone formation.